Life

Summer Hydration Made Simple

3 things to remember when you're filling your water bottles for training and racing in the heat.

This article is presented by Enervit

by Elena Casiraghi

You’ve been training for months. Your big event is just around the corner. You’re as ready as you can be--except for one, pesky factor: the temperature. Many triathletes don’t train all winter and spring in the kind of conditions they’ll be facing on race day. And regardless of whether you’re prepared or not, it’s always a good time for a hydration refresher.

Simply put, hot temperatures can adversely affect athletic performance. This is particularly true for long-distance events, like the IRONMAN or the IRONMAN 70.3. A combination of heavy sweating and inadequate rehydration results in dehydration. The body can actually tolerate limited amounts of dehydration without any deterioration in performance: around 1-2 percent of body weight. Higher levels of dehydration, equal to, or greater than, 3 percent, can endanger not only your race results, but also your health.

Sweating isn't a factor we can control; it's our body’s way of naturally regulating our temperature. In fact, the work of our muscles increases metabolic heat which, just like in a car, must be dissipated before it can reach the engine. Every gram of evaporating sweat burns 0.6 calories off the body. Sweat that soaks into our clothes or drips off of us removes water and minerals from our bodies. Therefore, it is essential that this proportion of water and minerals is returned to our bodies.

And there's more. The greater the humidity in the air, the smaller the percentage of sweat that evaporates from us. When these circumstances intensify, all we can do is to wear breathable clothing and get used to training in environments of high heat and humidity.

Let's take a look at three simple strategies to help maintain an optimal level of hydration.

1. Hydrate before, during and after exercise

Take control of your hydration by thinking ahead and planning. In other words, don’t wait until you’re thirsty. Begin your training session fully hydrated, and then drink water and mineral salts in regular small doses every 15 minutes during exercise. Being thirsty depends on many factors, such as a dry mouth, psychological circumstances, and the information carried to the hypothalamus from our various receptors. During physical activity thirst is often not a reliable indicator of the body's actual water requirement.

2. Avoid drinking only water

If you are a light sweater, and particularly if you are at rest, it may be sufficient to drink only a small amount of water. However, things can change before, during and after training or racing. If sweat soaks through your clothes during a competitive event and lasts for more than an hour, your drink should contain the same concentration of minerals found in sweat itself: sodium, chlorine, potassium and magnesium.

During long-distance races in difficult conditions, the use of sodium-free drinks can lead to hyponatremia. For this reason, drinking only water during intense and prolonged exercise is highly inadvisable. It is essential that your hydration mixture contains sodium and chlorine, while potassium and magnesium supplements should only be used after exercise.

3. Choose a salt-based supplement

The water bottle you carry with you, before and during exercise, should contain a concentrated isotonic drink. However, during intense and prolonged exercise it is advisable to drink a concentrated hypotonic drink that a bit less concentrated. Sports drink products with a mineral base always contain a small quantity of carbohydrate. This ensures that the mixture leaves the stomach at a faster rate than the water so it is absorbed in the intestine more effectively.

During rest, when an athlete wants to regain lost minerals but avoid carbohydrates, effervescent tablets with a base of electrolytes are a good choice. On the other hand, when exercise is intense and prolonged, as in the speedier stages of an IRONMAN or IRONMAN 70.3 event, it is advisable to drink water from a bottle every 30 to 60 minutes, depending on one’s sweat levels. Taking basic salt tablets are also a great idea during a race in order to promote correct hydration levels, and also to avoid absorbing too much fluid.

Take these tips with you this summer, and good luck on the race course!

Enervit is the Official Nutrition Sponsor of the European IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 Series.

Elena Casiraghi, Ph.D. is a sport nutrition expert and professor of Theory and Methodology of Training at University of Pavia.